Oestreich not running for re-election

Abbotsford residents will see their monthly sewer bills go up by a couple bucks next year after the city council voted last week to increase rates by 5 percent starting in 2026.On the advice of the city’s auditor, city administrator Josh Soyk presented the city council with several options for raising sewer rates next year in order to generate more revenue for the wastewater utility.The 5 percen...

Debate over a new $6 annual fee for septic tank owners consumed nearly an hour of the Marathon County Board’s latest meeting on Sept. 18.Before ultimately voting 19-14 to approve the fee, supervisors went back and forth on whether it was fair to shift the cost of a statemandated maintenance program from the general tax levy to rural residents who are not connected to municipal sewer systems.The ...